Emmanuel Katto is known across East Africa as a Safari Rally legend. In 1996, he won the national rally title in a Toyota Celica. His Emka Rally team became a motorsport institution. Today, Katto is a business tycoon applying that same competitive focus to Africa’s artificial intelligence revolution.
His business interests span enterprise IT, real estate, mining and procurement across Africa and Europe, alongside power generation and renewable energy. That portfolio matters because AI is not only about software. It needs electricity, data centres, connectivity, land, equipment and skilled people. Without those foundations, Africa will consume AI but will not shape it.
Katto argues that Africa must build the basics before chasing algorithms. Data centres are the backbone of modern AI, but they are power-hungry. Many African grids cannot guarantee the high uptime that data centres require. Power outages cost the continent billions of dollars every year. That is why Katto links his power generation and solar interests directly to digital readiness. Reliable electricity is the first step to AI. Data centres must be planned together with generation, not after it.
But Katto also warns against technology for its own sake. Through the Emka Foundation, he supports food, medicine and education for underprivileged children. That citizen-first outlook shapes his AI message: innovation must meet the actual needs of citizens. A farmer needs pest advice in a local language. A clinic needs better records. A student needs affordable connectivity.
His enterprise IT experience gives him a practical view. AI cannot run on pilots alone. It needs systems, procurement, maintenance and local skills. His real estate and mining interests add another layer. Data centres need land, buildings, cooling and secure power. Mining supplies critical minerals for batteries, solar panels and electronics. Procurement connects equipment and services across Africa and Europe.
For Katto, Africa’s AI revolution is not about copying Silicon Valley. It is about powering hospitals, schools, farms and businesses with tools that work. The rally legend who once raced against the clock now races against a widening digital divide.